The Making of the Jewish Middle Class: Women, Family, and Identity in Imperial Germany

This is a richly rewarding, unforgettable book that will fascinate not only students of Jewish or German history, but anyone interested in modern history in general. Of the book's many virtues, the one I appreciate most is the justice it does to the extraordinary role of German-Jewish women in the development of social welfare and women's rights organizations in pre-1933 Germany. After I read this treasure, I reflected on another book I read entitled Great Jewish Women; unforgivably it profiled Goldie Hawn and Ann Landers but had nary a mention of truly towering figures like Alice Salomon, the founder of modern social work in Germany, and "Soup Kitchen Lina" Morgenstern, whose herculean, selfless and pioneering efforts on behalf of veterans, children and women were all the more admirable given the anti-Semitism of the times. Kaplan's book provides a sorely needed perspective on what really astonishing achievements are all about.